Academic Centre
UL Vice-Rector for Research Guntars Kitenbergs emphasizes the high achievement of the researcher: “The University of Latvia, as a research university, has a duty to strive for scientific excellence. However, there are not many objective indicators that truly demonstrate excellence. Among them are ERC grants, sought after by the researchers from the most prestigious scientific institutions in Europe. Therefore, I am exceptionally delighted that the research conducted in Latvia and the University of Latvia has repeatedly received this distinguished recognition.”
European Research Council (ERC) is a prestigious European Union-created independent institution and the leading European funding organisation for research excellence. Its grants enable the scientists in Europe to carry out the most powerful scientific endeavours, as the ERC’s mission is to promote research of the highest quality. Latvian sociologist Inta Mieriņa is among the 103 outstanding researchers in her field – this year’s grant recipients.
Inta Mieriņa, a tenured professor at the UL Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences is a prominent scholar whose work has significantly influenced the development of sociology in Latvia, as well as Europe and the world. Her research significantly contributes to the research in general and political sociology, with a particular focus upon the issues of migration, diaspora, social cohesion and sustainable development.
“Attitudes towards immigration are a controversial issue in contemporary Europe, and therefore studying it is so meaningful and interesting. Why do we reject some and readily welcome others? The situation with Ukrainian refugees offers a unique opportunity to better understand ourselves and society,” she says of her research.
The allocated grant, which comprises almost 2 million euros, will enable a group of international scholars led by Inta Mieriņa to study the reception of immigrants in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has caused the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Until now, the attitude of the population of CEE countries towards immigrants has been crassly negative, in contrast to the attitude experienced by Ukrainian refugees. “How do attitudes towards migrants develop, taking into account historical, geopolitical and ideological factors?” – the new study will help to answer these questions.
Mieriņa’s research challenges the current narratives of attitudes towards migrants, which focus on xenophobia, ethnic nationalism, racial prejudice and resource constraints. Instead, the study emphasizes the importance of historical memory, collective trauma, a common enemy and fears about security. Using an innovative methodological approach, the researcher aims to show that attitudes towards migrants are nuanced, context-specific and dependent on both the particular immigrants and the specific host communities. Scientists will use a multidisciplinary approach to analyse four countries: Latvia, Poland, Hungary and, for comparative context, Italy, to determine how these factors shape attitudes towards refugees and migrants. In today’s unique historical context, the study will improve understanding society’s interaction with migrants and offer solutions to improve their reception conditions.
The ERC awards five different types of grants, depending on the stage of a researcher’s career. This year, a total of 2 313 project applications were submitted for the ERC Consolidator Grant, which was awarded to Inta Mieriņa and is open to experienced researchers with 7–12 years of work experience after obtaining a doctorate, of which 733 were in the social sciences and humanities. Funding was awarded to only 14.2% of the applications.
The ERC has been operating since 2007, and to date only one researcher in Latvia has received its research grant – in 2013, the ERC Advanced Grant was awarded to Andris Ambainis, a tenured professor at the UL Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) for research into the advantages and limitations of quantum computer algorithms. In 2024, the ERC Synergy Grant project to fund the study of historical pandemics was jointly awarded to four outstanding scientists, in whose team the University of Latvia is represented as a partner by UL FST Professor Normunds Stivriņš.
#ERCCoG
 Consolidator Grants – were announced on 3 December. After an intermission of more than ten years, a scientist in Latvia has been awarded this grant, and Inta Mieriņa, the sociologist, tenured professor at the University of Latvia (UL) will lead an international research team, which for the next five years will study the differences and reasons for public attitudes towards migrants in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.){kind=link}